7 Bedrooms with Clever Paint Jobs We Love

Paint is about so much more than just color. Sure, it’s that, but it’s also a transformative way to define a space, fake the eye, and change the entire feel of a room. You might not be able to make major structural changes to your space, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a powerful tool in your arsenal. See how these paint jobs pull off some clever magic.

The half-paint job in this London home is smart way to make your walls appear more interesting than they actually are: It’s kind of like wainscoting without the actual woodwork. You do less work, use less paint, and create an interesting, architectural feature that adds character and color to your space. Yet the bright vibrant blue with white makes it more modern than traditional.

When Caroline and Jayden chose the color palette for their California home (also lead image above), they pulled an advanced move and painted the ceiling, which adds an entirely new dimension to the room. They also used color from two different paint companies: The walls are a dusty pink called Romance from Sherwin Williams and the ceiling is Sweet Spiceberry from Glidden.

Tom and Carolyn chose beautiful, rich Benjamin Moore’s “Day’s End” for their Brooklyn bedroom, which already adds coziness and drama to their sleeping space. When they painted the trim and door the same color as the walls, they made them disappear into the background, and opened up more layout options for furniture. This trick can also make smaller rooms appear larger.

If you rent your home, instead of own it, you might be a tad more reluctant to whip out the paint brush and go to town, especially when you’re drawn to deep saturated color. McKensie and Matt injected a healthy dose of green (in this case Behr’s Secluded Wood) in the space behind their bed under the eaves, which is energizing, but not overwhelming (and, let’s be honest, won’t be a load of work to paint over when they move out).

Theo’s created an accent wall in his bedroom, and taped off a series of thick lines before painting, which fakes the look of crown molding and draws the eye upwards. The overall effect is sophisticated, yet so simple to pull off.

Matthew flipped things on its head when he painted his Chicago apartment. Instead of the traditional painted walls with white trim, he did the total reverse and kept everything white, except for the black woodwork. It’s a surprising and dramatic choice that pays off.

Another unexpected choice: Leaving the room white and painting just the door. Since the door is a fairly small area, you can get away with a much bolder color than you could on a wall. In this Martha’s Vineyard cottage, mint green really adds some cheer and happiness to the space.